Western Maine camps raise funds for Bridgton Hospital equipment

Summer camps in western Maine recently helped purchase a stretcher for Bridgton Hospital to use for LifeFlight helicopter operations. Front from left are Marcy Isdaner, Camp Mataponi, and Arleen Shepherd, Camp Skylemar. Back from left are Stephany Jacques, interim president of Bridgton Hospital and Rumford Hospital; J.D. Lichtman, Camp Tapawingo; Laura Ordway, Camp Winona; Mark Lipof, Camp Micah; Dan Isdaner, Camp Mataponi; Jeff Hacker, Camp Cedar; and Bridgton Hospital leaders Amy Dugas, Jill Rollins, and Amander Wotton. Shannon Rathmanner photo

A group of summer camps in western Maine recently helped purchase a stretcher for Bridgton Hospital to use for LifeFlight helicopter operations.

Arleen Shepherd, director of Camp Skylemar in Naples, contacted 12 other summer camps in the Bridgton area to participate in a fundraiser for the equipment.

To express their gratitude to the team members at Bridgton Hospital for all they do to care for their young campers, the 13 camps donated $13,500 to the hospital, according to a news release from Lisa Gardner with Central Maine Healthcare, based in Lewiston.

“Bridgton Hospital is especially important to summer camps in the surrounding area,” Shepherd said. “Unfortunate things can happen anywhere, especially when you have so many kids living and playing together. When something happens, we depend on the wonderful Bridgton doctors, nurses and technicians of the ER.

“Bridgton Hospital provides us with 24-hour-a-day healthcare, with a collection of professionals who truly care about helping each individual in need,” Shepherd added. “The staff is kind, compassionate and professional, and everyone is especially understanding of the summer camp industry.”

Amander Wotten, nurse leader at Bridgton Hospital, said the hospital has been looking for a way to fund a special stretcher for patients who have to be flown to another facility. The new stretcher will allow team members to safely move critically injured patients from the hospital’s Emergency Department to a LifeFlight air ambulance.